Iowa Safe Schools

The mission of Iowa Safe Schools is to provide safe, supportive, and nurturing learning environments and communities for LGBTQ and allied youth through education, outreach, advocacy, and direct services.

All students need a safe, supportive atmosphere in which they can learn, including students that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ). Unfortunately, bullying, harassment, and discrimination against LGBTQ students occurs often in our schools. In fact, 82% of transgender youth report that they feel unsafe at school and 74.1% of LGBTQ students were verbally bullied in the past year because of their sexual orientation. As these students face verbal and physical harassment, educators, policy makers, parents, and other students are often hampered by the lack of quality information and resources to protect LGBTQ students. That’s where Iowa Safe Schools comes in.

We provide comprehensive support, victim services, resources, and events for LGBTQ and Allied youth. Serving over 10,000 youth annually, Iowa Safe Schools is the largest LGBTQ youth serving organization in the Midwest.